Chemical manufacturing accounts for about 12% of the US’s manufacturing sector. There are many different markets that purchase and use these chemicals, including oil, polymer, medicine, science labs, chemical testing, and more.
No matter which of these categories you fall into, an online SDS management service is critical for your safety and success. That’s why it’s essential to choose an SDS service provider who is both experienced and efficient. Read on to learn some things to consider before signing a contract with one such service.
1. Cost
Comparing management costs is an essential first step to selecting SDS technology. You need to purchase solutions that work for your budget. No matter how great a service is, spending too much money on it will detract from the cash that you have to spend developing core products and managing the chemicals that you use daily.
An inappropriate budget can also lead to poor employee training, which negates the effects of the SDS sheets. Badly trained staff members are, after all, more likely to hurt themselves when handling hazardous chemicals. Safety data can’t help them when they aren’t trained in what to look for.
Your best bet for getting a good bang for your buck is to look into an SDS management service that price-matches other, cheaper options. This ensures that you get the error-free quality you need while still saving money.
2. Experience
SDS management experience is also an important factor when choosing a service. Newer startups, though they may be completely legitimate and reputable, haven’t established enough expertise in troubleshooting common SDS issues. They therefore won’t be able to provide you with the fully managed service that you want and the customer support that you need.
A company that stems back to the 80s will always have more knowledge and experience than a newer one. This should be one of the first considerations that you make along with cost before signing with an online SDS specialist.
3. Accessibility
The next thing that you need to think about is how user-friendly a platform is. One of the perks of online SDS management is that employees can easily search up and access data sheets from any device. This means that a search function is absolutely essential, as is a platform that can be organized in any way that your company needs it to be.
You also will need to ensure that administrators can make alterations to the organization and content of SDSs easily (assuming that they have the appropriate permissions). This is essential when keeping your digital documents up-to-date and accessible. Mobile devices such as Smartphones should also be among the devices that can support your SDS software.
4. Storage
Many companies that work with chemicals and other hazardous materials are larger than other enterprises. They include large medical facilities, scientific labs, chemical experimentation, pharmaceutical or vaccine development, and industrial manufacturing plants. If this describes your business, you likely have hundreds of different chemicals that you use in your daily operations.
This means that you’ll need an SDS management technology that can support a lot of different files. It needs to be able to hold, access, and load hundreds of documents and make them accessible. It must do this without slowing down, crashing, or struggling with security measures.
5. Customer Support
Without customer support, any company that works with hazardous materials will have a difficult time keeping track of them all. If you’re unable to find something within your database, you can connect with a customer service representative to inquire about its location. Since good online SDS companies will have your information backed up to either a local or Cloud-based network, it will be easy to find or recover this data.
Customer support is also necessary if the software begins to slow down or struggle for any reason. While this isn’t going to happen all the time, it may happen eventually. You will need high-level help from experienced professionals to get the service working at its fullest potential again.
6. Security
Losing safety data sheets can be a huge problem. OSHA regulations require SDSs to be on hand at any given time. If you’re non-compliant with this requirement, you will be susceptible to a fine and will lose some of your good reputation as well.
Hackers and malware can destroy this information in the blink of an eye, so disaster recovery and backups are critical for data sheet protection. Online SDS always works to ensure that your SDSs are safe and within reach even in the event of a data breach.
However, your SDS management service also must be compatible with preemptive measures that combat malware. Many of your documents will have sensitive information about your staff or company that unauthorized users simply shouldn’t have access to. Keeping this information out of the wrong hands needs to be a priority.
7. Implementation
Finally, you need to choose SDS management software that’s compatible with your pre-existing technology. You don’t want to need to reinstall everything in order to implement your SDS technology. Make sure that you look into your current management technologies and the sheets that exist within them.
When you get rid of your current organizational software (spreadsheets, etc) and move to online SDS management, you want all of the information you currently have to be usable. Make sure to ask our team to automate the information for you so you can manage it from our software. Spreadsheets are difficult to manage and won’t cut it, but transferring the information that you have written in them will save a lot of time.
Get Started With the #1 SDS Management Service
Now that you know how to choose an SDS management service, it’s time to get started.
Schedule a demo of our online SDS management software to see what we’re all about. We offer transparent costs, price matching, and top-notch customer service so that you can feel comfortable with your online documentation. We’re committed to providing you with the best SDS management technology on the market, so we look forward to hearing from you ASAP.
